Geez Ray, there's nothing wrong with being a character in Chicagoland. Our history full of them, Royko for starters; but just about everyone brands themselves in some Chicago-larger-than-life sort of way. There's money in it too (and that's not bad, we all gotta live).

But admirer Cicero's Larry Dominick? Ray, c'mon. You gotta explain that one to us.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

AG Holder makes the top ten this year. Picture at left is Holder with now convicted Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich announcing Holder’s hiring to prove Rosemont Illnois was not a mobbed-up community, and indeed worthy of an Illinois Casino license. The b-girls and bookies on Mannheim Road were tickled to hear his selection I’m sure.

Attorney General Eric Holder: Attorney General Eric Holder now operates the most politicized and ideological Department of Justice (DOJ) in recent history. And revelations from the Operation Fast and Furious scandal suggest that programs approved by the Holder DOJ may have resulted in the needless deaths of many, including a federal law enforcement officer.

Fast and Furious was a DOJ/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “gun-running” operation in which guns were sold to Mexican drug cartels and others, apparently in hopes that the guns would end up at crime scenes. This reckless insanity seems to have resulted in, among other crimes, the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican criminals in December 2010. Fast and Furious guns were found at the scene of his death.

Republican insiders believe that if only 23% of the City of Chicago went Republican, then the state would turn Red. Curry thinks that is very doable, “I think that’s very doable. Not in one cycle,” continuing, “If the party were to deploy people to do target outreach.”

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The opposition, having suffered from years of harassment at Mr. Putin’s hands, has not yet succeeded in taking advantage of today’s unstable situation. But the recent outburst of public protest has flummoxed Mr. Putin, as he finds that his authoritarian government lacks the pressure valves that allow liberal democracies to anticipate and alleviate expressions of discontent.

Mr. Putin can no longer take his supremacy for granted. It is not yet a revolutionary situation. After all, Mr. Putin, like Mr. Yeltsin before him, can count on the money and pork-barrel politics needed to win the presidency next year; and he has no qualms about letting the security agencies use force.

But Russians, having sleepwalked away from Communism, are awakening to the idea that if they want democracy and social justice, they need to engage in active struggle. Quiescent 20 years ago during Soviet Communism’s final days, they may at last be about to stand up for their rights.

India West covers Krishamoorthi at a San Francisco fund raiser, and notes this stat about Illinois’s 8th district.

Illinois’ 8th congressional region underwent redistricting earlier this year. Krishnamoorthi believes he has benefited from that exercise: The new district’s population has the highest concentration of Indian Americans – almost 10 percent – of any congressional district in the nation.

Alderman Matt O'Shea, who represents the 19th Ward, announced his intention to keep the borders intact. The problem is, given the demographic realities, I am not sure how he intends to accomplish it. The article points out that, during the last redrawing, the residents were successful in keeping the ward intact. What the article doesn't mention is that, at the time, Chicago gained population. Given how much the population dropped, especially in the South Side, the status quo will be harder to justify. As I discussed in the previous post on the redrawing, the African-American Caucus is desperate to keep its numbers intact. They're going to try to grab as much territory as they can possibly get.

On the other hand, Ald. O'Shea is a loyal memberof the Old Guard with considerable political experience.19th Ward community organizations have numbers and resources few community organizations in the adjacent wards can match. The sheer number of municipal and union employees in the ward is nothing to sneeze at, either. Even if the 19th Ward residents don't get their way, they will put up one hell of a fight.

Edited to Add: It is worth noting that Morgan Park lost population in all racial categories. White numbers dropped by 8.1 percent. Black numbers dropped by 7.75 percent. Even Hispanics, whose presence was negligible, lost 7.3 percent of the population.

Those population declines are striking. The trends well established and it will have a big impact on Chicago.

Just wondering if Krishnamoorthi will step aside (and what he would need to go) to allow a Duckworth a free shot at the nomination, and bank all that money for the General against Walsh.

After all, Krishnamoorthi’s Bright Star baggage seem ‘cause it sounded formidable and right up Walsh’s ally,

It is time for Raja Krishnamoorthi to answer some tough questions about his management and oversight of Illinois’ Bright Start program. Raja claims credit for supervising the Bright Start program, but who was actually watching the investments?

Raja claims Bright Start program is one of top College Savings programs, yet all but one of Illinois funds lost 50 – to- 400% more than their benchmarks?

Who’s going to compensate the 185,000 Bright Start families for the rest of the 40% of their tuition money lost in Oppenheimer’s derivative swaps trading in its Core Bond and Fixed Income funds?

Raja welcomed parents into the program and promptly switched the plan sponsor – his choice, Oppenheimer.

Raja left when most of the funds cratered, performing vastly worse than their benchmarks. Instead of staying with the office to fix what he broke, Raja left, to run for the next political office.

Raja has turned into the typical Illinois politician: Ducking responsibility for mistakes made, and leaving Illinoisans to pick up the pieces.

We don’t need a new generation of the same old talk. As the Daily Herald said, we need more than just talk.

I’m guessing K goes, but it’s going to take a price because the Indian Community may well see it an affront.

“You don't get 89 votes for something like this without there being a complete understanding [that] the House Republican leadership was on board,” Pfeiffer told MSNBC. “Speaker Boehner got on the phone with his caucus, tried to sell it, we had a Tea Party revolt.”

That video of Walsh telling "President Obama, quit lying." must have really stung! It did by the way, shut Obama down, and nary a word was further heard from him on suspension of SSA checks.

Forget Duckworth and Krishnamoorthi, Obama's getting in the ring with Walsh. That's gotta be dumb presidential politics shining the spotlight on the humdrum burbs Northwest of Chicago. Great story for us bloggers... and Walsh.

The busy life of a Congressman. Last I recall, Congress had a barbershop.

Davis (D-Chicago) is running for re-election to Congress and also to be Chicago’s 29th Ward Democratic committeeman. But before he can get on the March 20th ballot, Davis must clear up about $1,887 in fines owed to the Illinois State Election Board, according to WBEZ reporter Sam Hudzik.

The fines, imposed on two of his committees – Citizens for Davis and Davis for Mayor – were levied because campaign money disclosure reports were filed late or not at all.

Davis knew about them, but explained in an interview last week with WBEZ that the congressional schedule has kept him too busy.

“I’m here [in Chicago] for two days, and – damn – I can’t find time to go get a haircut,” Davis told WBEZ.

I understand the need to make a place attractive to business, but this one strikes me as bad, in a bad economy, with people strapped. I have no idea who Bystronic is or whose crony they may be, but it’s the start of a crony capitalist arrangement I bet.

City Management Analyst Aaron Cosentino said Monday the jobs incentives package originally was put together when the prior council was seated but did not come up for approval until after the spring municipal elections. The new council wanted an analysis of the economic benefits of the incentives package compared with its costs to the city.

The cost of the Bystronic package totaled as much as $167,000. That includes as much as $85,000 in bonuses the city would pay the company for each employee it hires. The company would be required to maintain for the first five years at least 25 jobs with annual salaries of at least $40,000. But the city would pay incentives to entice Bystronic to grow its workforce.

During the first five years of the agreement, Bystronic would receive $2,000 for each job created with an annual salary, before benefits, exceeding $40,000 and $3,000 for each of the initial 25 jobs created with an annual salary exceeding $70,000. After that, the benefit is cut to $1,000 per job paying at least $40,000 before benefits. Under the agreement, Bystronic is supposed to recruit and hire Elgin residents.

That part of the agreement is capped at $85,000.

The second part of the agreement would reimburse Bystronic $81,843 for impact and other fees associated with its new facilities in Elgin and would give the company two annual memberships to Bowes Creek Country Club for three years.

The purpose of today’s meeting is to mark up the Expedited Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011.

I am proud to be here today marking up legislation that was written in a bipartisan way with my counterpart on this committee, the Ranking Member, Chris Van Hollen.

Chris, I want to thank you and your hardworking staff for helping us advance this common-sense reform to improve government’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

The Expedited Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act gives the President an important tool to target unjustified spending, while also protecting Congress’s constitutional authority to make spending decisions.

This new authority would allow the President to specify spending provisions within an appropriations bill, while requiring stand-alone consideration of these rescission proposals by Congress.

Legislation implementing the proposed spending cancellations would receive expedited floor consideration and an automatic up-or-down vote in both chambers of Congress. Should Congress approve the rescission bill, every dollar of savings would be devoted to deficit reduction.

In addition to this bill, there are a number of other budget process reforms that are badly needed and that I want to mark up in this committee. This bill, for example, does not address mandatory spending, which represents 60 percent of our budget and is the key driver of our debt.

We also need to keep in mind that budget process reforms alone will not solve our enormous budget challenges, but this reform and others can give us tools to help us tackle the drivers of the debt and remove impediments to economic growth.

WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 19) House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) made the following remarks at a press conference tonight urging Senate Democrats to put their vacation plans on hold, return to Washington, and work with the House to extend payroll tax relief for a full year in a way that doesn’t hurt job growth:

“The House Republican Conference met this evening to talk about our way forward. Listen, our Members believe that we passed a reasonable responsible bill that would extend the payroll tax credit for a year. It would take care of those doctors who treat Medicare patients – the reduction in their payments – solve that problem for the next two years. And extend unemployment benefits with reforms for a year. Exactly what the president asked us to do.

“Our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. We’re here. We’re willing to work. We will appoint conferees and we hope the Senate will appoint conferees because we’re willing to get the work done now and do it the right way.

“Lastly, it’s become clear that what the Senate did pass is going to cause job creators all kinds of problems. As we saw the report that came out today by those who actually run payroll systems that there was great confusion about the way the Senate bill was put together. I think it’s time to just do the right thing for the American people. Let’s solve this problem now. We’ll have plenty of time to deal with other issues next year.”

I had to read the General Theory for Macro Economics at Grinnell in 1974. I wonder how many students still have to read it? Samuelson at the above link on how the world's vastly changed in size and velocity since Keyne's time.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

"Are we moving Medicare from a command and control government run system to a market based patient centered system? The answer's clearly yes," Ryan said. "We're taking Medicare from a public-only option to a real-private option and a market-based option in a market-based system." Wyden-Ryan would transform Medicare from a single-payer system into a system in which those entering Medicare after 2022 receive a capped subsidy, or premium support, to purchase health insurance on an exchange. "It runs the money through the person rather than through the government. The marketplace, the patients and the doctors, can make a decision," he said. Ryan-Wyden maintains the exact same "risk adjustment" and means-testing provisions that the GOP budget did (i.e. the sick and poor get a larger subsidy, the healthy and wealthy get a smaller one).

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Seems that way if google's Persian to English translation is working. Via Reuter's TV

Here's a translation of Alsammarae's words today:

Maliki, said Iraq's former Minister Ayham Alsamrayy, really does not represent the Iraqi people. He represents the Iranian mullahs. Patrick Kennedy said the White House and State Department's Foreign Minister and listen to someone who lies. Professional who will listen that he not only lied, but his name is Al-Maliki, Halahm on the subject is lying,

Meetings with Kennedy. Meetings with State. Outside protesting while Maliki's talking with Obama. Poor Rod on his way to the cooler and all sorts of things start popping again. Picture below of Alsammarae, Nadhmi Auchi, and Rod Blagojevich at that Four Seasons dinner where Obama allegedly dropped in briefly.
Alsammarae's to Rod's left and partially hidden. Only in Chicago can a story like this happen!

Update:video of the demo here including Alsammarae speaking along with Tom Ridge, Louis Freeh, and Patrick Kennedy.

Update: Some background on camp Ashraf to help explain what this demo was all about. I'm just curious to see a Chicagoan here participating!

Footnote: Alsammarae on radio Sawa June 2008 supporting the insurgency in Iraq. What were Ridge and Freeh thinking?

Said Minister of Electricity former Ayham Samarrai, who holds American citizenship that operations targeting the multinational forces are the legitimate resistance, and wished to continue, pointing at the same time that he would return to Iraq for practicing his political career. The Samurai, who escaped from an Iraqi prison following a court order to detain him in issues of administrative corruption: "The resistance in Iraq legitimate resistance is against occupation and any resistance in the world against occupation is legitimate, and good resistance to continue and take the right of the Iraqi people and I look forward to increase the wings of political" in the context of a separate, Samarrai said in a press conference held in the Jordanian capital of Amman Sunday he donated as much as $ 2300 U.S. in support of the Democratic Party candidate Senator Obama in Chicago, explaining this by saying: "in the U.S. states you have the right to contribute amounts of cash, and I donated $ 2,300 to Obama." In response to a question by "Radio Sawa" on the membership of the party and its alliances revealed his quest to join the new cluster, led by Dr. Iyad Allawi, said: "We will be mass announced by Iyad Allawi, but not the movement of reconciliation. I support Iyad Allawi is a symbol of Iraqi Arab and agree together many of the of views. " Commenting on the question: "Radio Sawa" about whether he had an alliance with Hazem Shaalan or Mishaan Jubouri said: "I would be that the movement does not speak about names." and display the Samurai documents said that it confirms to stop all legal proceedings against him and his inclusion in the decision of the General Amnesty . referred to the Minister of Electricity former Which Samurai managed to escape from his prison in Baghdad after the suspension on charges of embezzling state funds and damage during his bag and the Ministry of Electricity in the transitional government led by Iyad Allawi. the details of the correspondent of "Radio Sawa" in Amman, Aws al-Tamimi

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 134 today endorsed Raja Krishnamoorthi’s candidacy for Illinoi’s 8th Congressional District. IBEW Local 134 is one of the most powerful local unions in the Chicago-land area and Illinois with 14,254 members.

“I am proud to have the strong support of IBEW Local 134 and its 14,000+ members,” said Krishnamoorthi. “I got into this race to fight for working class families, small businesses, and middle class prosperity.”

Krishnamoorthi’s role as president of a small business and a family man puts him on the front lines of this economic crisis every day and puts him in a unique position to understand what working families and small businesses are going through.

“As a job creator and the president of a local small business, I am the only candidate with the economic and business credibility needed to challenge Joe Walsh and the Tea Party’s radical economic agenda”, continued Krishnamoorthi. “I will continue to be a strong advocate for working families, labor, and small businesses both on the campaign trial and in the halls of Congress.”

IBEW Local 134 is the most recent labor organization to endorse Krishnamoorthi’s candidacy. Other unions that have endorsed Raja are:
Northwest Suburban Teachers Union IFT Local 1211
Illinois State Council of Machinists
Sheet Metal Workers Local 73
Painters District Council 30
Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (Plasterers’ Union) Local 5

“Raja’s economic message really resonates with working families here in the district and that is why we have gathered the lion’s share of local support,” said Campaign Spokesman Mike Murray. “Working class families that know Raja know that he fights for the middle class and promotes progressive economic solutions to create jobs and grow the economy.”

“Raja is the only candidate with a depth of business and economic experience. Raja draws upon that experience to promote well thought out, progressive solutions to the hardships our economy faces,” continued Murray. “Raja’s strong local grass roots support is due to the fact that Raja is the only candidate in this race with the economic bona fides necessary to stand up to the Tea Party in Congress and defend the Democratic economic agenda as pro-small business, pro-working family, and pro-job creation.”

Rice was hired last month as a $84,420-a-year deputy director of traffic safety for the Illinois Department of Transportation. The spot on the payroll is exempt from civil service rules, meaning that the Quinn administration was free to fill the post based on political considerations.

Chicago aldermen get paid $114,000 a year, but a FOX Chicago News investigation finds two of them are paying themselves out of their campaign funds for extra work, like marching in parades, passing petitions, and slating candidates at political meetings.

Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) has paid himself $194,778 since 2004.

"My job is to promote the Democratic Party in the 25th Ward, and that's what I paid myself for," Solis said. "If I paid a consultant, they would probably get paid maybe a little more than that if they were doing this full-time."

In this engrossing new history, published upon the war's bicentennial, Gillum Ferguson underlines the crucial importance of the War of 1812 in the development of Illinois as a state. The history of Illinois in the War of 1812 has never before been told with so much attention to the personalities who fought it, the events that defined it, and its lasting consequences.

Endorsed by the Illinois Society of the War of 1812 and the Illinois War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

"For more than a century, there has been no book-length historical study of the War of 1812 in Illinois, but Gillum Ferguson has labored mightily to remedy that historiographical shortcoming. Massively researched and well written, Illinois in the War of 1812 is a pioneering work that will undeniably appeal to scholars, local historians, and interested readers."--Rodney O. Davis, coeditor of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Lincoln Studies Center Edition

I never knew there was an Illinois Society of the War of 1812 or a Bicentennial Commission on it! Anyways, my kind of book, about a chunk of little known history. Illinois was an awfully violent place, even then, and for will before then too.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

By passing Dekalb and the Northern Illinois University seems a mistake to me. But there's a whole lot more freight on the UP's mainline to contend with than on the old Rock Island and CB&Q lines they're proposing to use.

Still, without a University town on the line, I don't see the patronage here. Naperville to Genesso, who is going to make that trip?

...in fact, Democrats did not even hold a confirmation hearing for him, which would have allowed him to confront and (potentially) persuade his Republican critics.

Instead, it was Democrats' tactical (read political) decision not to hold a confirmation hearing for Dr. Berwick, since the American people might have found his many past statements in favor of rationing or his praise for the British NHS health system (which actively rations access to, among other things, new cancer drugs) deeply problematic in the run up to the November 2010 elections. In fact, that record might have made it very difficult for Senate Democrats in swing states to vote for him - creating a bipartisan vote against his confirmation and a huge embarassment for the Obama Administration.

In other words, revisionist history notwithstanding, Democrats found it inconvenient to actually schedule a hearing and vote for the man who they now say is indispensable for Medicare reform.

I can assure readers, a confirmation hearing for Don would have been a grand Turkey shoot. A catastrophe for Obamacare. The consultant to NHS, who schmoozed NHS for contracts, then behind the doors told NHS all its problems, would have been the best evidence of the pathology of the Medical Industrial Complex.

As a result of disclosure, transparency, and ethics enforcement reforms, the Better Government Association lifted Louisiana from 46th to 5th on its Integrity Index. The Center for Public Integrity places the state 1st in its ranking of legislative disclosure requirements.

Ethics reform plays a significant part in Louisiana’s improved business climate. In 2009, the Gallup Job Creation Index ranked the state number three in the country. In 2010, Site Selection magazine rated its business climate number one in the nation. There’s no dispute that Louisiana’s economy is vastly better than it was.

A great story to be compared to the sorry narrative in Illinois and Gov Quinn. Go read the whole thing. What's with Illinois we can't produce a few of our own Bobby Jindls?

Quinn on Blagojevich above. What rock was Quinn under since 2002? Fitz repeated again yesterday Blagojevich ran a criminal enterprize for the moment he entered office in 2002. Quinn a good team player right through the re election. Either awfully stupid or lying through his teeth here.

Federal authorities have begun a criminal investigation into how nearly a dozen union officials became eligible for inflated city pensions, according to subpoenas obtained by the Tribune and WGN-TV through an open-records request.

The Chicago municipal employees and laborers pension funds each received subpoenas from a federal grand jury in October seeking "records pursuant to an official criminal investigation." The request seeks documentation on 11 labor leaders who appeared in reports from a joint Tribune/WGN-TV investigation.

In sentencing papers, the government contended that “Blagojevich’s criminal activity was serious, extended, and extremely damaging.” The crimes proven at trial were not isolated incidents, but, instead, were part of an approach to public office that Blagojevich adopted from the moment he became governor after he was first elected in 2002 on the heels of gubernatorial corruption and running on a campaign to end “pay-to-play” politics.

If the story's been ongoing since 2002, there is plenty left untold. For such high minded comments from Fitzgerald, he's walking away from the rest of the sordid tale.

You bet Illinosians have had the fabric of our political lives torn apart. Burying the scraps no way to stitch things back together. We deserved better from Zagel and Fitzgerald then just putting the guy who knows so much into a cooler for 14 years, and 600 hours of tapes sealed; never to be heard. Jackson Jr walks unscathed. Only the facts from the last act told and a big void from 2002 till then.

The evolving scandal over “green jobs” — with huge loans handed out to faithful campaign contributors — epitomizes the special dealing that has become an art form in the system of Chicago and Illinois politics. Beneficiaries include longtime Obama backers such as Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley and Google. Another scandal is building up around the telecom company LightSquared. This company, financed largely by key Obama donors, appears to have gained a leg up for a huge Pentagon contract due to White House pressure.

If the Chicago system had proven an economic success, perhaps we could excuse Obama for bringing it to the rest of us. Most of us would put up with a bit of corruption and special dealing if the results were strong economic and employment growth.

But the bare demographic and economic facts for both Chicago and Illinois reveal a stunning legacy of failure.

Go read the whole thing for the sad sorry statistics on what we've done to Illinois.

Back in the 70s, I had a friend who had been in SDS with Ayers and Dohrn. He told me they were two of the kindest and gentlest people he had ever known (consider we were both in our early twenties). As I look back I realize my friend was describing cult leaders. People who seduce others into situations they otherwise wouldn't consider. In the case of my friend, arrest and expulsion from school lead him to Grinnell, rather than the Weathermen. A near miss with a violent cult.

Anyways, the pair's still seducing away at our expense per above link at Illinois Review.

Update: more over at Rebel Pundit How long must Illinois taxpayers keep subsidizing this crowd?

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Walsh knows how to work the suspense. I hate paying the parking downtown though....

Rep. Walsh to announce his re-election plans at

Chicago Tea Party meeting

"I did not run for Congress to become part of Washington, I went to Washington to change the way Washington worked"

McHenry - Congressman Joe Walsh will make an important re-election announcement this Thursday at the Chicago Tea Party meeting. After spending the last week discussing his options with family, supporters, and party officials, Congressman Walsh believes the choice is clear.

Walsh stated "During my first year in office I upheld my campaign promise to do everything I could to rein in the mistakes that were made by the Obama Administration. From voting to repeal Obamacare, cutting spending, cutting taxes, and cutting the size of government, I have made it my mission to stop and roll back the damage that President Obama and Nancy Pelosi created. At the same time, I have also challenged my own party leadership when I think they did not go far enough. It is for that reason that I was one of only 22 Republicans who opposed the compromise that created the failed Super Committee.

I did not run for Congress to become part of Washington, I went to Washington to change the way Washington worked. It is why I have pledged to only serve three terms, it is why I turned down my health care and pension, it is why I sleep on my couch, and it is why I come home every single week and have hosted close to one hundred town halls.

During those numerous town halls I have heard from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who feel as if both parties have failed them, and that Washington is out of control. Like me they feel as though their country is being taken away from them, and that it is time to be bold. Whether you call them tea party members or just frustrated, patriotic Americans, this group of individuals is growing. They are fed up and want change now. I can think of no better place to announce important news concerning my re-election than in front of these folks at the Chicago Tea Party meeting.

Monday, December 05, 2011

For all the Libertarians, Conservatives, and those who think America can do better, some words from C. S. Lewis on Liberals habit of attacking the person rather than the argument. It's called Bulverism. H/T Peter A. Taylor

You must show that a man is wrong before you start explaining why he is wrong. The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly. In the course of the last fifteen years I have found this vice so common that I have had to invent a name for it. I call it "Bulverism". Some day I am going to write the biography of its imaginary inventor, Ezekiel Bulver, whose destiny was determined at the age of five when he heard his mother say to his father — who had been maintaining that two sides of a triangle were together greater than a third — "Oh you say that because you are a man." "At that moment", E. Bulver assures us, "there flashed across my opening mind the great truth that refutation is no necessary part of argument. Assume that your opponent is wrong, and the world will be at your feet. Attempt to prove that he is wrong or (worse still) try to find out whether he is wrong or right, and the national dynamism of our age will thrust you to the wall." That is how Bulver became one of the makers of the Twentieth Century.

There is worse news still for the Railways department and tens of thousands of passengers who travel on trains from day to day. Eleven further trains departing from the massive Lahore Railway Station, once one of the principal headquarters of rail travel in the country, have been cut. The trains provided services to Peshawar, Shorkot, Narowal, southern Punjab and other parts of the country. This takes the number of trains cut to 131, the highest in history.

AfPak's off way too many people's radar screens. Iran too, and I have the feeling it's all going to come crashing in on us in the next few months. Below via Bill Roggio's Long War Journal.

According to Dawn, US personnel have begun to vacate Shamsi Air Base in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. Shamsi has been described in the past as a hub for intelligence operations as well as a base for the CIA's unmanned Predator and Reaper drones. The Pakistani government ordered Shamsi closed within 15 days after US forces killed 24 Pakistani troops in a cross-border incident in the Mohmand tribal agency.

The new alderman there is Nicholas Sposato, a former firefighter who got the job by beating John Rice in April. Rice had been appointed to the post on the recommendation of his more powerful predecessor, William J.P. Banks, the long-time Democratic ward committeeman.

In what surely qualifies as a prime example of the law of unintended consequences, the City Council’s mapmakers have preliminarily decided that the reward for 36th Ward voters who threw off the yoke of the Machine is to take away their ward.

The proposed new 36th Ward would abandon three-fourths of its current territory to move eastward in two prongs so that it can become a 67 percent Latino majority ward, filling a need to add another Latino ward on the North Side because of population shifts.

You can bet that new Hispanic Alderman's going to be a Machine Alderman first.

Streamwood resident Jim Cook, 77, said he came to see whether Walsh was as much as a rascal as depicted in the media.

"But he's not," Cook said. "I found the man interesting. ... He has a lot of good ideas. Except that he is too conservative for my point of view. ... I have not voted for a Republican in all my life."

*****

Walsh starts the Town Hall with the Pledge and than recognition of Veterans in the audience.

Walsh responds to question about whether he'll run in the 8th. It's a twelve minute answer. If you don't want to wade through the video, just know he'll decide and announce next Monday. But it's twelve minutes of Joe at his finest. Worth watching.

One guy in the audience told Walsh he was as far left as Walsh was far right, but he'd still vote for him because he likes what Walsh was saying. There were a few of these occupy types in the audience and Walsh has a knack for engaging them.

A must read column by Larry Bell as Judge Zagel gets ready to put Blagojevich and the tapes into a very deep cold storage for decades. We need answers to all of the questions Bell asks here. People know those answers. People in high places. People in Foreign Places . People in Chicago. But not the American public.

Friday, December 02, 2011

To regain full employment (5 percent, which happens to be the same as the level when the recession began) with the pre-recessionary labor force participation rate, we would need 150.7 million jobs—10.1 million more than we have today. That’s a reasonable measure of the hole we’re still in, two and a half years since the official end of the recession.

Full employment is Bush's 5 percent? What Democrats were calling those Bush years fully employed?

Thursday, December 01, 2011

With the exception of voters with post-graduate degrees, Obama is under water with every educational cohort: 42 percent among those with a high school diploma or less, 41 percent among those with some college, and 41 percent for voters with BAs.

Taxpayers will apparently fund another potentially costly legal battle between Kane County officials as board members and Sheriff Pat Perez could not reach agreement Wednesday on who must pay for a 2 percent raise recently awarded to sheriff’s department employees and correctional officers.

Attention guys: taxpayers pay it all. Sounds to me like Sheriff Perez can't take the heat and ought to get out of the Kitchen. The Executive of an Agency takes the Budget the board sets, and then makes ends meet to complete the mission. Whining doesn't cut it. Going to court on the taxpayers nickle really doesn't cut. Taxpayers rightfully should start whining at the ballot box next year.

....Gingrich has vaulted from an average of an 11-point deficit among independents (35 to 46 percent) in the three Rasmussen polls taken earlier this month, to a 22-point lead (50 to 32 percent) in this one. Could it be that this dramatic improvement among independents is partly (or even largely) a product of the principled, but also nuanced and reasonable, view on illegal immigration that he expressed in the last debate?

Well, he mixed up some good words (sort of) from Unitarian Universalist Association chief Rev.Peter Morales.

Blagojevich, 54, was convicted at two trials of 18 counts, including lying to the FBI. His attorneys are expected to make their own sentencing recommendation later Wednesday, ahead of Blagojevich's sentencing by U.S. District Judge James Zagel on Dec. 6.

Prosecutors appeared to preemptively attack any argument that Blagojevich deserves leniency. They said he should not be seen as a family man and governor who helped the state, but as a common criminal. The former governor "appears to be committed to his wife and daughters," prosecutors said, noting that defendants in other cases also often have families that suffer when they go to prison. And any good work he did as governor shouldn't mitigate the charges against him, prosecutors argued.
"Many criminals are productive members of society, holding down jobs that they ably accomplish when they are not otherwise engaged in criminal activity," they said.

Prosecutors also enclosed a packet of news releases and articles about other convicted public officials who were sent to prison for 15 years or more.

A group calling themselves the Raw Milk Freedom Riders will journey from the Wisconsin state line with 100 gallons of raw milk and cookies (those, we assume, are baked) to Independence Park next Thursday, hoping to ruffle some FDA feathers.

A group calling themselves the Raw Milk Freedom Riders will journey from the Wisconsin state line with 100 gallons of raw milk and cookies (those, we assume, are baked) to Independence Park next Thursday, hoping to ruffle some FDA feathers.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

No idea what the vote was but Democrats run the place, and Speaker Mike Madigan runs the Democrats. He's a guy who remembers 1968 and what it did to the party and I'm guessing wants no part of #occupy for fear of what it will do to the party.

Link above to the story over at Illinois Review and a copy of the defeated resolution.

But 16 Democrats, one independent and 44 Republicans joined together to defy Mr. Obama’s threat. Two Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois — voted to strip out the detainee language.

Two points: a nice bipartisan example here to toss at anyone saying Congress hopelessly deadlocked. Next, my guts to go with Carl Levin here, We are at war with al Qaeda and people determined to be part of al Qaeda should be treated as people who are at war with us, but I see the Libertarian case too.

Two from the GOP, two Democrats; all setting out for Kane County Board chair. One of those Dems going to rely on Social Media to get the job done.

Klinkhammer said she intends to run a campaign that doesn’t involve traditional modern political strategies. She said she intended to use social media, print media and “her extensive network” of contacts in local governments and civic organizations – a network built while she was mayor and a top aide to former Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster – to help get her message out.

If Burns and Lauzen can't keep the mudslinging down they could well hand this to a competent Dem like Klinkhammer. The guys better keep a lid on their supporters. A proven female candidate could well rise above two boys scrapping if that's the way Burns and Lauzen end up playing it.

This one really stinks. Shows the arrogance and depth of corruption between Unions and Illinois. Also, Warner Todd Huston's take over at the Prairie State Report.

Steven Preckwinkle, the Director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, not only got a free pension for life paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois after being a “teacher” for only one day, but the Chicago Tribune has discovered that Preckwinkle also got free college tuition for his kids and a nephew, also courtesy of the taxpayers.

Through a spokesman, Preckwinkle said that his undeserved pension and the freebie education for his kids was perfectly legitimate and that “political connections played no role” in his amazing good fortune. If you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

What fools we look in Illinois Warner. Tolerating this garbage from those proporting to serve.

Judge Zagel, Please consider these tapes will be sealed and lost to the people of Illinois forever. We'll never have a full accounting of the misgovernment wrought upon us by Blagojevich and the rest. AG Fitzgerald's put the wider blame for corruption upon the voters of Illinois for electing over and over again these scoundrels. A first step towards correcting that ought to be putting ALL of the tapes up on the internet for all Illinoisans to hear. It's the only way voters will begin to learn the depths of corruption here.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

But Collin Hitt, a senior policy adviser with the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonprofit free market think tank, said Kraft and the Quinn budget team need to find a lot more than $1 billion before June.

"Lawmakers are going to have to add $4 billion to the 2013 budget that was not included in the current spending plan," Hitt said.Hitt is quick to point to the $1 billion in added pensions costs and the $490 million for Medicaid programs, further punctuated by the backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills."Illinois is going to need $3 billion next year to keep the backlog of unpaid bills from growing," said Hitt.

Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's office reports a current backlog of $3.5 billion. The Civic Foundation, a Chicago-based nonpartisan policy watchdog organization, said that backlog will grow to $8 billion by the end of the current budget in June 2012.